School Chooser

The Gateway School

Special · ages 11-16MixedAcademy102 pupilsNorthamptonWest Northamptonshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance60.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families68%Far more than most schools
Places15 spare102 pupils, 117 places
Pupils per teacher5.0School workforce census
Pupils on roll102Census January 2026

The Gateway School is a special academy in Northampton for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 102 pupils and room for 117. About 68 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

St John's Road, Tiffield, Northampton, NN12 8AA01604 878977thegatewayschool.co.ukMr Conor Renihan head teacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2023: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

18 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score8.9
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-1.95In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 8.08.020182019: 7.07.020192022: 7.57.520222023: 5.25.220232024: 5.55.520242025: 8.98.92025
Since 2018: +0.9
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure20252024†2023†2022†2019†2018†West NorthamptonshireEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 111818914136
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 88.95.55.27.57.08.045.446.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-1.95-1.92-2.13-2.41
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%6%0%0%0%0%43%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%6%0%7%0%0%65%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.430.260.220.410.270.254.034.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%42%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged5.87.5
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged13.9
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers2.95.25.05.7

† These results are for The Gateway School, the school this one replaced in October 2023. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Subjects

Results came out for 5 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

Subjects that did worse than the England average: Biology (0% here, 82% across England), English Language (0% here, 54% across England), Mathematics (0% here, 53% across England).

What is taught here
SciencesBiology18

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
Mathematics18 entries
0%England 53%
0%England 54%
Biology18 entries
0%England 82%
0%England 58%
Social Studies14 entries
0%England 54%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics180%0%6%53%
English Language180%0%0%54%
Biology180%0%0%82%
English Literature140%0%0%58%
Social Studies140%0%0%54%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreLow-income pupils vs other pupils
5.813.9
Gap 8.1England 12.2
Strong pass in English and mathsLow-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 22 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to West Northamptonshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll102Census January 2026
Places11787% full
Pupils from low-income families68%68% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%102 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)55%£59,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls85 / 17
White British pupils83%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in West Northamptonshire with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (96), Moderate learning difficulty (4), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), language and communications needs (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024
Pupils on roll1027871
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals68%63%61%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%1%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 60.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance60.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school75.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils155.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission10.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence39.3%27.5%26.0%25.6%21.9%21.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence29.2%17.7%20.2%17.9%15.9%16.2%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence10.2%9.9%5.8%7.8%6.0%5.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence75.0%61.8%63.2%67.1%62.3%65.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate155.1111.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00

† These attendance figures are for The Gateway School, the school this one replaced in October 2023. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 9 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training56%and stayed there for at least six months

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers20.3full-time equivalent, 22 people
Pupils per teacher5.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers73%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants25.6full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,912
Teachers who left in the year6%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher6.82024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£43,205England £30,720. Total £3.4m
Income per pupil£42,026England £33,526. Total £3.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£17,564England £11,966
Money in reserve-9%In the red: -£277k, -£3,551 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out-£92kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£43,205spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate43 per 1,000 people52% lower than the England average
Typical house price£300,000West Northamptonshire
Nearest bus stop70 mTiffield Centre, 4 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Tiffield AcademyFree school70 m95Not inspectedCompare
Tiffield Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolChurch of England790 m35Report card 20263Compare
Blisworth Community Primary SchoolCouncil1.8 miles173Good 202280Compare
Gayton Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England1.8 miles57Good 202310Compare
Sponne SchoolAcademy2.1 miles1,410No overall grade 202572Compare
Towcester Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy2.2 miles267Good 202459Compare
Pattishall Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England2.4 miles155Good 202324Compare
Greens Norton Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy2.5 miles129Good 202356Compare

Questions parents ask

Is The Gateway School a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score The Gateway School yet.

How good are The Gateway School's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 8.9, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does The Gateway School have?

102 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 117 places, so it is 87% full.

What is attendance like at The Gateway School?

Pupils were in school 60.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 75% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does The Gateway School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
St John's Road, Tiffield, Northampton, NN12 8AA
Telephone
01604 878977
Website
www.thegatewayschool.co.uk
Head Teacher
Mr Conor Renihan
Type of school
Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Creating Tomorrow Multi Academy Trust (5 schools)
Local authority
West Northamptonshire
Ward
Towcester
Constituency
South Northamptonshire
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 October 2023 (academy converter)
URN
150242 · LAESTAB 9417018 · UKPRN 10093676
Formerly
The Gateway School

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from